Stabilizing supporting device for bodies on water



May 16, 1933. s FER 1,909,259

STABILIZING SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR BODIES ON WATER Filed June 29, 1932Patented May 16, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

saucer. FEIR, or BROOKLYN}; new YORK, assrenon oFoNE- ALF 'ro ELEKSMOKE,

or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 1 STABILIZING SUPPORTING. DEVICE'FOB BODIES 0NWATER Application filed June 2e,

My said invention relates to stabilizing supporting devices for bodieson water as more fully set forth in my application Semal No. 596,250,filed March 2, 1932, of which this application is a continuation inpart, the present application also including certain furtherimprovements whereby the efficiency of said device is enhanced, all aswill be herelnafter more fully described and-claimed.

Referring'to the accompanying draw ng which is made a part hereof and onwhich similar reference charactersindicate similar parts,

F igure 1 is a view in front elevation of a device embodying theinvention, showmg the same in upright position,

.Figure 2, a side elevation. 7

Figure 3, a side View thereof in floating position, i

' Figure 4, a top plan of certain parts removed, I I

Figure 5, a bottom plan view of a paddling device embodying a feature ofthe nventlon, Figure. 6, a top plan view of a modified form, and

Figure 7, a detail vlew of-one of the pro"- pelling elements. Thedrawing forming a part hereof lllusthe device with tra tes a deviceembodying the principles of my said invention. In said drawing numeral 711 indicates in outline the body of a swlmmer having means providedaround waist for supporting him in upright posit on 1n the water. Thesupporting means Wlll preferably be securedabo'ut the swimmers waist.These means may include a pluralityof buoy-' ant elements 14 suitablyspaced around the body of the swimmer so as to stabilize him from everypossible direction. As shown four of said buoyant elements are provided,two arranged at the front in proximity wlth the sides of the body andtwo arranged at the rear of the body. More or less elements of differentform and arrangement maybe employed if found desirable; Each pair offront'and rear elements as shown in the preferred. form provideelongated buoyant supports whichpermit easy movement of the personthrough the water, The buoyantelements 14 maybe made in different shapes1932. Serial no. 619,989..

and of different materials for example each buoyant member may beconstructed as a hollow ball as shown in Figure 4 or they may beelongated hollow elements with pointed ends extending forwardly andrear'wardly from the body as shown in Figure 6. They may be made of athin light material, either flexible or rigid in character, such asrubber orjotherwater-proof fabric, orfof metal of appropriate character.These buoyant elements l4 will'be sufliciently large to give them thenecessary lifting or supporting power. By constructing them of diametersof'about 15 inches they have been found sufiicient to support-a veryheavy person in the Water. They may, however, be made smaller or largeras may. seem desirable. Said buoyant elements 14 may be and preferablyare attached to a belt 16 for securing same about the wearers. body andsupplemental straps 17 may extend from the belt upward over theshoulders and other straps 18 downward alongthe'legsand around underthe. feet respectively Said straps 18 may be. secured to the-legs of theswimmer by anadditional strap or band which is adapted to surround theleg above the knee and a strap 20 at the ankle towhich said straps 19are connected.

'.The buoyant. elements 14 may be attached desired the swimmer may alsowear a suitable water-tight suit 22 which'may envelope the entire bodyor only part from the 'belt'npward. The buoyant elements just describedare preferably mounted independently of the suitbut may be attached tothe suit if desired. To afford additional supports for the personsupplemental-buoyant elements 24 may be disposed along the wearers bodyas shown. These may be buoyant elements similar in general constructionand appearance to, elements 14: but. are'preferably smaller and-are'9-arranged in one or more; spacedrows extending along appropriate'lines ofthe wearers body,1as along the sides, front and back as 7 shown.Additional buoyant elements 23 may be attached in any suitable manner toa head .1

covering 27 which covering will preferably be water-proof and may be ofany suitable material and may be held in position by a chin strap 28,the buoyant elements being disposed wit-h the purpose to mostappropriately support the head of-the swimmer above the water. I

By means of the buoyant elements described the swimmer is supported infloating position in the water and his head is kept out of the water.Due to the distribution of the elements 24 the swimmers weight isproperly distributed to insure freedom of action. To facilitate movementthrough the water or along the water paddle devices 32 are secured toshoes 33 and these devices are constructed with a streamline effect soas to act as paddles in the normal to and fro movement of the wearerslimbs as in walking. Specifically the members 32 may be connected to theshoe soles and may consist of thin walled metal air-tight devices,preferably triangular in shape with front edges 35 and with rear faces36 of larger area, the rear face being convex to afford eflicientpaddling action. Heel portions 37 may be provided to maintain an evenlevel of the shoes with the members 32. To provide other means forpropelling the swimmer through the water, rigid straps or bars 43 and 44may be secured to the sides of the legs, the elements 43 and 44 beinghinged as at 45 to permit free bending of the leg at the knee. Theelements 43 and 44' are secured by straps 46 to the swimmers legs andpropelling means 47 are secured to the outer edges of the swimmers leg.The elements 47 are preferably formed as truncated cones with the smallend directed toward the front of the body. These elements thereforeprovide cup-likedevices which may be freely moved forward but which whenmoved to the rear act as paddles or oars to propel the swimmer throughthe water.

In Figure 6 is shown a modified form of the invention which is similarin most respects to that shown in Figure 1 except that the buoyantelements 14 are shown as elongated buoyant elements 38. When the swimmeris going forward the buoyant elements 38 may form a pontoon device andis well adapted for movement with slight resistance through the water.Each buoyant element may have a curved free end 41 and be of circular orother form in cross section with its inner end 42 relatively large inarea and curved to fit snugly against the body of the swimmer.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in my device without departing from the spirit of the inventionand therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawing anddescribed in the specification, but only as indicated in the appendedclaims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A swimming suit comprising a harness adapted to be secured about thebody of the swimmer, said harness comprising a belt portion having aplurality of buoyant elements secured thereto, a pair of shoulder strapsattached to the belt at the front and rear of the body of the swimmer, apair of leg straps attachcd at one end to the belt at opposite sides ofthe body and attached at the other ends to the belt adjacent the frontof the body, said leg straps passing down under the instep of the footand having spacing straps secured thereto approximately at the knee andat the ankle, and a plurality of cup-like elements rigidly secured tosaid leg straps so as to lay in a plane substantially parallel to theaxis of the swimmers leg, substantially as set forth.

2. A swimming suit comprising a harness adapted to be secured about thebody of the swimmer, said harness comprising a belt portion having aplurality of buoyant elements secured thereto, a pair of shoulder strapsattached to the belt at the front and rear of the body of the swimmer, apair of leg straps attached at one end to the belt at opposite sides ofthe body and attached at the other ends to the belt adjacent the frontof the body, said leg straps passing down under the instep of the footand having spacing straps secured thereto approximately at the knee andat the ankle, and a plurality of cup-like elements secured in spacedrelation along the legs at their outer sides for propelling the swimmerthrough the water when hislegs areimoved as in the manner of walking,said cup-like elements being hollow and frusto-co-nical in shape, thesmaller end being positioned forward. to present relatively littleresistance to the forward movement of the swimmers legs but which areresisted upon rear movement of the legs to propel the swimmer throughthe water, substantially as set forth.

3. In a swimming suit of the kind described having buoyant elementssecured thereto. a plurality of propelling elements removably attachedto the swimmers legs said elements comprising cup-like devices havingtheir forward ends smaller than the rear ends to permit relativelyunresistedforward movement but to provide resistance for rear movementsto propel the swimmer through the water. substantially as set forth.

4. In a' swimming suit of the kind described having buovant elementssecured thereto, a plurality of propelling elements removably attachedto the swimmers legs said elements comprising cup-like devices havingtheir forward ends smaller than the rear ends to permit relativelyunresisted forward movement but to provide resistance for rear movementsto propel the swimmer through the water, said propelling elements beingmgidly securecl'to bars, said bars being hinged adjacent the swimmersknee, substantially as set forth.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Vashington, Districtof Columbia, this twenty-eighth day of June, A. D. nineteen hundred andthirty-two.

SAMUEL FEIR.

